


A Normal Life

by CharmmyColour



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Abusive Parents, Action, Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Angst and Feels, Backstory, Creative License, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Domestic Bliss, Drama & Romance, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Mystery, POV Multiple, Post-Season/Series 02, Psychological Drama, Revelations, Secrets, Separation Anxiety, Shock, Some Humor, Time Travel, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28925247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmmyColour/pseuds/CharmmyColour
Summary: After Cavendish and Dakota get involved on a mission of the Bureau of Time Travel by accident, a series of unfortunate events tear them apart from each other.Now, they must figure out what is truly important for them and what they are willing to do to achieve it.
Relationships: Balthazar Cavendish & Vinnie Dakota, Balthazar Cavendish/Vinnie Dakota
Comments: 112
Kudos: 62
Collections: Team Cavota





	1. The Plan

\-------------------------

For a lack of a better term, Vinnie Dakota was _tired_.

It wasn’t, for once, about experimenting physical exhaustion, a feeling the Italian knew far too well. He was in poor shape, but it had never bothered him; there were worse crimes than being fat. However, the draining feeling his mind was (both mentally and emotionally) just too overwhelmed to function couldn't be fixed with some rest and water. No, this fatigue was persistent, painful and so very annoying.

But who wouldn’t be tired? Dakota had been abandoned by his best friend going rogue and spent weeks desperately looking for him, eating his feelings and avoiding sleep; and once they were finally reunited, they were suddenly going to space to rescue a kid from aliens and confronted a literal giant ball of destruction. Then after that, after all that, after going through one of the most dangerous, bizarre events of his life; Dakota found himself cleaning trash in the local park like nothing had happened at all.

It was simply a lot to process, but the Italian was determined to make the fatigue go away. He had to. He got his partner back, and that was worth the effort.

Balthazar Cavendish was always worth the effort.

Dakota was not the kind of person that had big dreams and big ideas. He just liked to roll with whatever life offered him, not seeing the point in getting all worked up over not having that much going on. If his job was being a janitor (an alien janitor, technically) that was fine, he would clean the street and enjoy the sun. And if he was fired, whatever, there were plenty of jobs he could do. If he lived with his co-worker in a rented (half) office, sleeping in a couch bed and having to use a motel’s bathroom, well, at least it was a roof. If his family didn’t want to do anything with him, if he lacked any real qualification, if he was considered weird, and lazy, and obnoxious… really, it was fine. Dakota had no particular aspiration in life besides staying alive.

But then there was Cavendish, and it turned out Cavendish was all Dakota needed to care.

Saying Vinnie was in love would be truly an understatement. Dakota was devoted to Cavendish with every fiber of his being, he was the whole light and purpose of his life. Everything Dakota did, he did for his best friend; no matter the price, no matter the consequences and no matter the knowledge the feeling would never be returned. The brunette’s only goal was for them to stay together, and if it had to be as friends instead of lovers, well, he would be happy with that nonetheless. Back on their prior job, when they were both time travelers, he regularly saved Balthazar from death, pain, and sometimes just embarrassment rewriting the timeline over and over again; just to keep him safe, happy and near.

Of course, that was incredibly forbidden, but he was Cavendish! What was Dakota supposed to do?

“Today wasn’t bad,” The Italian grinned to his partner from the passenger’s seat of their old work van. “‘kay, little bump there when the bag ripped and we had to clean near the bushes again, but the park was nice! I saw some ducks.”

“Mmh-mmh…” Cavendish replied, his fingers rhythmically pounding over the wheel. He looked miserable.

Dakota glanced away, trying to think of something to say. They had decided to return to the downtown area after a shower once their shift was done but ended parking quite far from it. They had nothing in mind for the evening, really, Vinnie had just insisted they should at least go out for a walk and Cavendish had merely agreed with the idea.

Dakota didn’t like that.

Cavendish was argumentative, and proud, and huffy, and awkward and bossy. That was his Cavendish. This pliable, quiet, soft man his best friend had become after the whole space accident was strange, uncomfortable and oh so apologetic. Dakota was sick of it; they didn't even banter anymore. Okay, so they had been jerks to each other, so what? The Italian just really wanted to ignore it ever happened and forget about it. Balthazar, on the other hand, kept trying to address it! Why couldn’t he just pretend everything was fine?

They left the van in silence and started walking down the street, and Dakota was still unable to think of anything interesting to say. His thing was avoiding the problem, it always had been. Since their reunion, Vinnie had been running away from any serious talk, any exchange of feelings, anything that carried the painful memory of those two sad, lonely months. He figured that would make Cavendish feel better, but for some reason, the Brit seemed to be frustrated and sad instead.

“Are you alright?” The taller man asked him, raising an eyebrow; and Dakota snapped out of his thoughts.

“Oh, yeah! Totally! Wonderful!” He lied, showing his two thumbs up with a big smile. If he repeated it enough, eventually it would have to be true.

“Are you su-?”

“Hey, check this out! There’s a sunglasses sale in the mall!” Dakota cut him off looking at a nearby billboard.

Cavendish furrowed, but said nothing.

Things hadn't been exactly peachy since they returned to Earth. After helping save an entire alien civilization in Octalia, coming back to their menial jobs as janitors felt strange, even to Dakota. It had been worse for Cavendish, of course, who had nearly had an outburst over their actions not constituting a satisfactory reason for promotion.

Then again, Bob Block had been, in his words, “very disappointed” about all the rogue incident, and as much as the man didn’t stop smiling once, neither Cavendish nor Dakota found the courage to protest once he simply stated that he would “let it slide this time around”. Vinnie really wanted to ask his boss if he had known the entire time one of them wasn’t attending work, if he really just learned the fact or simply didn’t care all along. That was partially because if it was the latter, it had been a stupid thing to do all of Cavendish’s work to protect his partner and make sure he had a job to come back to.

But, honestly, most of his frustration stemmed by how crushed Balthazar was with the news. Dakota couldn’t stand seeing him this deflated.

“It’s almost dinner time,'' The Italian commented. “hey, how ‘bout going to that Chinese place ya like and get some of that fancy soup you always order? The algae one.”

“ _Zǐcài dànhuā tāng_ ,” Cavendish corrected, his carefully pronounced Chinese making Dakota snort. “and it is not fancy. Seaweed and eggs are hardly sumptuous ingredients. It’s not like I’m ordering shark fin soup,” He paused a moment, wrinkling his nose. “...not that I would want that, anyway.”

“Yeah, shark finnin’ is insane. Poor creatures don’t deserve that.”

“Precisely.”

“I’m so glad we’re going there, tho! I haven’t had dumplings since you…” When Dakota realized he shouldn’t be touching that topic, it was already too late. He bit his lip and cursed in silence, hoping Cavendish wouldn’t catch the implication.

Unfortunately, Vinnie was not a lucky man.

“Oh…” Cavendish looked away, sad and embarrassed, and the Italian wanted to slap himself to oblivion. Now he had managed to cheer him up a little…!

“Nono, I mean! I just didn’t crave Chinese food, so totally on me, cuz ya know, it made me think of you and…” He cut himself off again. What was wrong with him? He was making it worse! “Anyway! We should totally go there for dinner…”

“I suppose…” Cavendish frowned and cleared his throat. He looked uncomfortable now.

Dakota sighed. “Look, man, I-”

“Great googly moogly!”

Cavendish’s exclamation caught Dakota by surprise, but the Brit had a very good reason to shout. Practically out of nowhere, two cars had driven past them at full speed, sparks jumping everywhere from the tires skidding over the pavement. The first one actually had people shooting at the other vehicle, and the two men didn’t have to be geniuses to figure out they were just witnessing some kind of car chase. Which was, by itself, bad enough...

But then they recognized the second car.

It was Brick and Savannah’s time limousine.

“Did you see that?!” Cavendish yelled, startled.

“Yeah, that’s the time limo! Brick and Savannah are after someone!”

“Hurry up, then!” The Brit stated, starting to run. “We have to find a way to help!”

Cavendish sprinted after the cars while Dakota tried his best to not be too slow to follow. The Italian wanted to scream that they should forget about it, that those two were plenty competents themselves, that the situation was too dangerous and the cars too fast; and there was nothing they both could truly do to help. The other guys had guns! _Guns_! If a lost bullet ended in Cavendish’s chest, what was Dakota supposed to do?! He knew, however, that any of his protest would fall into deaf ears, and it was wiser to keep his breath to run. Cavendish had seen someone in danger, and there was nothing that would stop him from trying his best to help, no matter how hard or deadly it could be.

Damn the pure soul of his partner.

They almost lost sight of the vehicles after a couple streets, but then the cars skidded into an alley and their occupants jumped out, running into an abandoned factory. Brick and Savannah followed them kicking the door down. It took Cavendish and Dakota a minute, but they finally reached the entrance, the Italian gasping desperately for air at that point. Cavendish had the most determined expression in his eyes, and hurried inside without stopping to evaluate the circumstances properly, which (considering what they had seen outside and the louds noises coming from the building) was clearly bad. Had Dakota been religious, he would have cursed any possible god for the entire thing.

Thanks to Doofenshmirtz’s love to oversharing, the Italian knew enough about O.W.C.A. to recognize one of its agents by the fedora. Otherwise, he would be as confused as Cavendish to stumble with a golden tabby cat fighting against three henchmen (the same people who had been in the car earlier, Dakota recognized), mostly just defending himself for the constant stream of attacks. At least their guns seemed to have been knocked out far enough,though it was clear the feline was struggling to keep them away.

The picture was bad enough without any addition, but there was more. A little further away into the massive facility, Brick and Savannah were also fighting, in their case against a woman-looking robot dressed in red. The two agents were doing their best, but the robot was big and sturdy, and armed with a number of miscellaneous weapons emerging from her arms and chest; which made her a powerful enemy. The fight was as frantic as the one occurring next to it.

At the back of the room, on a higher platform over them, a bald man dressed in a white lab coat grinned mischievously at the scene, his expression crooked and unmistakably evil. Dakota understood immediately they were looking at some kind of villain, and that the people fighting with the agents in front of them were his minions.

Cavendish, unfortunately, was not that quick.

“What is the meaning of this?” He blurted, something between a confused gasp and an offended yell.

“Look out!” Dakota thanked his fast reflexes as he knocked Cavendish down, a stray laser shot burning a hole in the wall, right where his partner had been standing seconds ago. That was a close one.

“What are you losers doing here?!” He heard Savannah screaming. Dakota was getting very stressed. Suddenly, he really craved a _burrito_.

“Don’t you two have a mission to screw up somewhere else?” Brick snarled, his attention slipping long enough from the robot to receive a strong punch in the chest.

The distraction was enough for the agents to lose their momentum with a battle they were already struggling with. While Brick was still reeling from the hit, the robot used a fast movement of her legs to catch Savannah’s legs, making her trip. The first class agents only would need a couple seconds to regain their position and keep up with the fight, but unfortunately, the chance to do so never came.

Directly from inside one of her arms, the robot shot a bolas at them, which wrapped tightly around their bodies faster than they could react. Now tied back to back, Brick and Savannah tried to synchronize their movement, but the man in the lab coat shot their feet with some kind of sticky goo that immobilized the agents completely, forcing them to remain seated on the floor.

“Well, well, well,” He grinned from the ladder. “I see you also brought friends.”

“They are not our friends,” Brick scoffed. “just some LOSERS that shouldn’t be here!” He made the point of shouting the word losers to Cavendish and Dakota, just in case they missed the intent.

“Oh, boy…” Dakota exhaled when the robot turned around to face him and his partner. They were still on the floor and this was getting worse by the minute.

That seemed to kick the protective instincts of the O.W.C.A. agent, because upon seeing them in danger, he changed his strategy. Jumping against a wall, he took a cable hanging from a ladder and used it to tie the henchmen together, making them trip to the floor. Then, he skidded until he was positioned between the robot and Cavendish and Dakota, facing the former in a clear combat stance and his claws out.

“Why is this cat protecting us?” Cavendish blinked, getting on his feet slowly.

“You remember Perry? Yeah, same thing. There’s like a whole organization, long story.” Dakota offered, following his lead.

It took him a few seconds to notice Cavendish had purposely stood in front of him, but it made Dakota panic fast. They had to get out of there, it was too dangerous. At least the cat agent would give them enough time to...

Too late.

A fishnet trap came from the shadows, too fast for any of them to notice and before Dakota could even get to his next thought, the furred creature was trapped inside it. The agent hissed and immediately tried to cut the net with his claws, but a voice interrupted him.

“Don’t bother,” Came from where the trap had been shooted. It was a juvenile voice. “it’s steel wire. You won’t be able to escape this time.”

Dakota was rather shocked to see a child emerging from the shadows with a net gun on his hands. He was short, wore glasses and was also wearing a lab coat. In fact, he resembled the villain quite a bit (his son, maybe?), especially in the malicious way he was grinning.

“Good job, Orville,” The bald man laughed. Then, he addressed the robot. “Chloe! Get them and end this stupid fight once for all!”

Everyone looked at Cavendish and Dakota. The Italian’s heart was racing. This was bad. This was really bad. This was a disaster.

“We have to get out of here,” Dakota hissed, trying to yank Cavendish back. He would act as human shield if necessary, but Balthazar was leaving the place alive that night.

“No.”

The blank tone made the word hit Dakota even harder. “Cav, what the Hell!? We need to get out and call for help, _NOW_.”

“No. These are villains, Dakota,” Cavendish stated. He seemed uncharacteristically calm and firm, his face determined. “They have captured Brick and Savannah and this good creature; and they are planning something heinous without a doubt. We must stop them,” He clenched his fist, a weak but determined battle stance accompanying his words. “I must. Go seek help if you desire, but I can’t leave. I am sorry.”

Dakota felt his stomach sinking; but he knew, in the end, he was going to comply. Cavendish was right: whatever was happening there, it must be stopped. The Italian took a deep breath and positioned himself next to his partner in a similar stance, already regretting every decision that had taken place that day.

“Okay,” He gritted his teeth. “Let’s show them why you don’t mess with the clean up crew.”

Cavendish side-eyed his partner, though he kept his posture. “Really, Dakota? Couldn’t you choose another title for us?”

“What? Is what we are. What do ya wanna me to call us, the trash guys?”

“That’s not the point, it’s about-”

“Watch out!” Savannah’s voice interrupted their banter just in time for them to duck, dodging a punch from the robot. They already knew they were in danger, but it hit them again abruptly how very screwed their situation was.

“‘Kay, maybe we discuss the name later!” Dakota yelled as he and Cavendish scrambled away from Chloe, knowing putting some space between them was the only chance they had at the moment.

“We need a plan!” Cavendish uttered, tightly clinging to his hat to avoid losing it as they fled.

“Can’t run and think at the same time!” Dakota half-joked. Humor was a much needed cope for him right now, especially in the absence of food.

“Get out of here, you loons! You’re going to get hu-oof!” Brick protested, but Savannah elbowed him sharply, cutting the sentence. They needed the help.

As they ran for their lives (literally), getting away from the robot and dodging the shots the kid was directing at them, Cavendish and Dakota managed to find some coverage behind a big set of pallets. The talian noticed the warehouse used to manufacture building material, by the look of it, but it’s not like that information was going to help them.

Cavendish clearly thought otherwise.

“Is this insulated wire…? AHA! _Eureka_!” The Brit exclaimed, smiling brightly for a moment. He took Dakota by the shoulders. “We have our plan.”

“Do we…?” The brunette asked, not at all convinced.

“Indeed! However, I need your help. Can you distract them for a few minutes?” Cavendish pleaded, grabbing his head and pulling their faces closer. In other circumstances, Dakota would have enjoyed the contact.

“Wait, what are ya gonna-?”

“No time to explain. Do you trust me?”

Time froze.

At least, that was how it felt to Dakota once he was forced to consider that question. Trusting others, that was something he rarely did, but Cavendish? With his own safety? Cavendish was frail. Cavendish was clumsy. Cavendish was accident-prone, had no spatial awareness and very poor reflexes. Cavendish needed Dakota to protect him, to care for him, to guide him, to…

_No._

This was the exact same bullshit that tore them apart last time. Cavendish had flaws, that was true, but was also an adult. Dakota had to stop treating him like he didn’t know better, like he was just a child that could be distracted with enough treats. His friend was smart. He deserved better than his condescence.

“Yes,” Dakota settled. “I trust you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic also includes a blog where you can ask questions directly to the characters!
> 
> You can check it out here: https://askanl.tumblr.com/


	2. The Fall

Dakota wasn’t sure what Cavendish could possibly do to improve their situation, but he bit his lip and silenced his head. _Trust_. He needed to _trust_. As he looked at his partner scrambling away, the Italian took a deep breath and prepared to do his part of the plan, whatever that was. He was hard to ignore. Calling attention over himself ought to be easy.

“Hey, baldy! Over here~!” Dakota sing-songed, climbing one of the pallets. If he knew anything about bosses, it was that they would pause anything to protect their ego.

“Excuse me?” The man in the coat hissed. “Do you have the faintest idea who you are talking to?”

“Premature alopecia?”

“Enough!” An offended roar. It was working just as Dakota expected, addressing the boss directly had made the others stop attacking.

He had to be careful, however; he was one bad word away from being vaporized. Fortunately, villains love to gloat.

“I,” The man announced filled with pride. “Am Aloyse Everheart Elizabeth Otto Wolfgang Hypatia Gunther Galen Gary Cooper von Roddenstein; former leader of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N., evil scientist and future ruler of the world!”

Dakota only absorbed a word from that sentence. “Muffins? Muffins where?”

“What? No, M.U.F.F.I.N. stands for…”

“Did you eat all the muffins? I wanted one!”

“There’s no muffins!” Roddenstein snapped.

“Then why did you mention them?” Dakota whined.

The Italian looked briefly to his side trying to locate Cavendish. He saw him discreetly climbing a steampipe with a huge roll of wire under his arm, approaching a platform near the wall. There was an electrical panel in the area, but Dakota hadn’t quite figured out the plan yet.

“Why are you talking to the weird disco dude, dad?” The son of the villain wrinkled his nose, dismissively.

“Well, it’s not my fault I always end up surrounded by idiots!” Roddenstein crossed his arms.

“We can hear you, you know?” Brick commented, unamused.

“Don’t worry; once you get back to prison where you belong, you will have plenty of time to monologue at the wall,” Savannah added.

Dakota shot another quick glance at Cavendish. He was wrapping the wire around the steampipe…? Uh, weird.

“You two have enjoyed enough of my patience,” Roddenstein pointed at the time agents, snarling. “I will get rid of your friends and then vaporize you from existence. Ah!”

“Whoa, dude, hold on!” Dakota interrupted. “Not even gonna explain your evil plan? What kind of supervillain are ya?”

“Supervillain? Yeah, as if,” Brick snorted.

“His invention wasn’t even that good,” Savannah dismissed.

“Really?” Dakota teased, playfully resting his hands on his hips.

“He made a bomb to destroy the city and blah blah blah;” Brick rolled his eyes and pointed at Roddenstein with his head.

Dakota could clearly see the device, about the size and the shape of a basketball, resting just next to the scientist. That was bad, really bad. He glanced to his side again to spot Cavendish freezing mid-action, shock clear on his face. However, when the Brit shook it off and resumed his strange task (what was he doing with the electrical panel?), he seemed to be even more determined. Dakota focused on Roddenstein again. He looked like a red teapot about to explode.

“This is just the beginning! Once I test the range of my Bomb-inizor on Danville, I will be able to modify it to destroy entire countries,” He began to monologue, pacing menacingly. "Unless!" The scientist barked sharply, holding up a finger. "The leaders of the world give me total authority over the planet!” He laughed; that loud, maniacal laughter evildoers seemed to love abusing. Dakota flinched in disgust.

“You aren't gonna win…” The Italian spit, sickened by the display.

“I already have,” Roddenstein replied with a smug smile.

His hand disappeared for a moment inside his coat and Dakota realized, before actually seeing it, that the man had a gun with him. Vinnie only had a brief second to panic before the scientist aimed straight at his head and pulled the trigger.

Was this how it ended? With a bullet between his eyes? Vinnie clenched his fists and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come and wash him away; leaving nothing behind but the shadow of all he wished he had said, all he hoped he could do.

It never came.

The bullet stopped mid-air and started floating. No, not floating. _Levitating_. The whole room felt like it was suddenly filled with electricity, and Dakota could feel his necklace tugging away from him. Other things were vibrating too; both the kid's and the scientist’s gun, the trap the O.W.C.A. agent was caught in, even the robot herself. Roddenstein saw his bomb was starting to rise and pinned it into the floor, panicking. He made a good decision.

Because the next second, everything was flying directly to the object Cavendish had been working on.

Dakota’s reflexes were fast. He jumped ahead just in time to catch the flying net trap. “Got you, lil’ fella!”

He untangled it quickly, letting it fly only after freeing the cat agent, who immediately stood next to him, ready to battle. Dakota scanned for Cavendish again and found him duct taping the two ends of the wire (the rest of which was tightly wrapped around the steampipe) to the electrical panel. The Brit was clutching his hat and his pocket watch, preventing them from flying away. Any other metallic objects in the room, however, were now stuck to the steampipe, including the female robot; who, as much as she struggled, was unable to free herself from the magnetic field.

Magnetic field… Cavendish had created a magnet!

“Cav, that’s awesome, how did ya…?” Dakota exclaimed, genuinely thrilled.

“Now it doesn’t seem so silly that I learnt some tricks about electromagnetics, does it?” The Brit gloated, smiling proudly.

“Okay, that was still a terrible idea for a party, but I'll give, I’m glad you did!” Dakota grinned.

“We have to deactivate the bomb at once before it hurts anyone. Quickly!” Cavendish jumped over the platform to run to the scientist, and Dakota followed his lead.

“It’s an Inizor!” Roddenstein protested.

As they ran past the child, he ended up getting tripped (and not completely by accident on Dakota’s part). He fell near Brick and Savannah, tumbling into the goo that restrained them and getting trapped, growling in annoyance. With the henchmen still tied, the robot stuck to the magnet and the kid glued to the floor; only the scientist remained and once he was defeated everything would finally be over. Cavendish and Dakota hurried up a stairway to reach the platform the bald man was in, and found him tightly hugging the device to his chest to stop it from flying away, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at the two men now in front of him.

“Good sir, I must insist you release that atrocious creation this very instant!” Cavendish demanded.

“But not literally, because then it’s going to fly away, and I don’t think flying bombs are a good idea, so don’t release it literally; release it but, like, metaphorically.” Dakota clarified.

Both Cavendish and Roddenstein stared at Dakota for a good five seconds before resuming the conversation like his addition never happened.

“Do you think defeating me will be that simple? AH!” The scientist snarled, narrowing his eyes. “This time NOTHING WILL STOP ME!”

Roddenstien moved to activate the bomb and both men leapt into action; Cavendish, being the strongest of the three, easily took him down. The tussle for the device continued for a few more struggling moments, a mess of arms and legs stumbling over each other. It was Dakota who successfully kicked the bomb out from Roddenstein’s hand but, unfortunately, it was a second too late.

“Uh oh…” Dakota mumbled looking at the timer activating in his hands. Five minutes. _4:59, 4:58, 4:57…_

“Good luck with that!” Roddenstein laughed, pinned under Cavendish. “There’s no way to deactivate the timer! Let me go now and you might have a chance to say goodbye to your loved ones.”

“Dad, are you serious?” The kid protested. “You are going to kill us all!”

“If these two idiots hadn’t interfered, I would be making my demands to the president right now!” The scientist snapped. Cavendish failed to notice Roddenstein was tentatively moving one of his hands to the side. The bald man grabbed a grappling gun from the floor and shot it before the Brit could react, the grappling hook caught a ladder and pulled him free from Cavendish’s grasp. “Farewell, losers!”

The sudden movement made Dakota lose his grip on the device, which started floating towards the magnet. Scrambling on all fours, Cavendish jumped onto it and pinned it firmly between the floor and his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around it, panic obvious in his eyes.

Roddenstein had eluded them, but he didn’t go far. Before he even had the chance to get close to his son, the O.W.C.A. agent dropped from above and blocked his way, ready to fight. Dakota was freaking out, just trying to find some solace in that at the very least, the villain wasn’t getting away and they had the bomb. But the thing was active. And it was counting down. And they had no idea how to make it stop.

“What do we do?” Cavendish cried looking at the red numbers.

“I don’t know!” Dakota panicked.

“We don’t have time!”

Dakota’s mind automatically made a time travelling pun. Force of habit. Groaning, he cursed the reflex and tried to toss it out of his mind when, in the middle of the growing chaos around him, he had an idea.

“Of course! Time!” He realized, eyes wide. “Follow me, Cav, I know exactly what to do.”

The Brit didn’t look very convinced, but he didn’t protest a word as he joined Dakota as fast as he could. By the time they got down the platform, the tabby cat had tied Roddenstein with another cable with ease; and the villain just groaned at them, disgusted. Dakota bounded directly to Brick and Savannah, pumped by the adrenaline of the moment.

“Savannah, gimmie the limo’s keys!” He demanded far too quickly.

“What?” Brick growled. “We are not-ouch!” He was interrupted by Savannah elbowing him again.

“Left pocket of Brick’s suit. Hurry!” The Latina woman offered, and Dakota fished the keys from the other time agent before he could complain again.

“We are banned from time travel, Dakota!” Cavendish reminded him, anxiety choking his words.

“Yeah, but the time limo isn’t gonna recognize us,” Dakota motioned for Cavendish to follow and started running to the door, his partner quickly joining him.

“But Mr. Block…!”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if it means we don’t let the city get blown up!”

That seemed a good enough reason for Cavendish, because he didn’t protest any further. They left the building running as fast as they could, while the O.W.C.A. agent worked to free their ex-coworkers from the trap. Dakota practically launched himself into the driver's seat and Cavendish joined him a second later, the bomb still pressed against his chest and his heart pounding loud as ever. As soon as the door closed, Dakota started the engine and made the jump into the time stream. Despite being the one to initiate it, he was still caught completely off guard and the sudden acceleration made his breath hitch.

“Now what?” Cavendish pressed.

“I dunno, this is as far as my plan went!” Dakota replied, still fuelled by the adrenaline.

Cavendish looked at the timer. In the time stream it was acting strange, jumping forwards and backwards wildly, sometimes pausing to start again on a completely different number. They had no time. The bomb was now completely unstable and would go off at any given moment. Shutting his eyes tightly to try to suppress how terribly overstimulated he was feeling, the Brit did his best to think about the next step.

“We cannot go back to the prehistoric times, as the destruction of so much flora and fauna would have catastrophic results in the present,” He rationalized out loud. “We also can’t travel to a point prior to the first forms of life, since there’s no oxygen. Though Antarctica has tremendous amounts of empty land, we cannot risk breaking the ice and causing a massive acceleration of climate change. Think, Cavendish, think…”

“Hey, if we’re gonna die, you should know-”

“ _Aha_!” Cavendish exclaimed, not having realized Dakota was talking. “The Atacama Desert, Chile; the most lifeless place on Earth! Brace yourself, Dakota, we are getting out!”

Filled with determination, the taller man put the coordinates in the limo’s controls and the vehicle was soon out of the time stream, dropping them in the middle of a huge, arid desert. Not skipping a beat, Dakota accelerated even more until the car was skidding over the sand. He turned the wheel abruptly, a cloud of dust enveloping them; and without loosening his grip, Dakota gritted his teeth, opened the window and snatched the bomb from Cavendish’s hands.

“Enjoy the sun!” The Italian shouted, tossing the device as far as he could. By the time the bomb hit the ground, the car had turned around completely and was approaching the portal to the time stream again. They were almost there.

But then the counter hit zero.

The explosion was brutal. It barely touched Cavendish and Dakota, who at that point were already crossing the portal, but it had devastating effects on the vehicle. The back was not only completely burned, but part of it was missing entirely; half of the car was losing pieces on the go, the tank was torn apart and pouring time juice, and a myriad of sparks jolted everywhere from the damaged parts. The movements of the previously elegant limousine were now shaky and erratic as it struggled to not fall apart before reaching its destination.

Both men were sent flying in all directions with barely enough time to understand what was happening. Panicked screams filled the vehicle as they desperately tried not to hurt themselves or each other. Cavendish thought he was finally regaining some balance when the vehicle listed dramatically without warning, causing his door to open abruptly and the Brit almost fell out in the process.

Yelping, Cavendish grabbed his hat and tried to retreat, his screams echoing in the colorful void. Dakota acted fast, tugging his coattails firmly, then his waist and finally (before Cavendish could even process anything) pulling him back into the car. Another close one.

However, the vehicle was still out of control, rocking wildly from side to side, and now the door on Cavendish’s half was broken. The danger was not over yet.

“Stay here,” Dakota almost hissed, pushing his partner into the driver’s seat. That was the safer alternative since the door on that side was not damaged and would prevent Balthazar from falling out.

The Brit only blinked as he watched Dakota jump over him and then between him and the danger, too overwhelmed to actually do anything. The system had entered emergency mode and was getting ready to travel automatically to its designated safe spot. They only needed to hold on a little longer…

The Italian knew, however, that he had to close the open door or they were both in great danger. He was gripping the frame and leaning outside the vehicle, trying to reach the handle, when the car jerked sharply. The brunette lost his balance and his body slipped from its perch. He hung there, clinging to the handle of the broken door for his dear life. It was then Dakota realized with horror, that -unlike other objects in the time stream- he wasn't floating.

If he lost his grip, that would be it.

“Dakota!” Cavendish cried, trying to get closer to the door despite the erratic movements of the car.

“Stay back!” His partner barked.

Cavendish ignored the order. Dakota was _insane_! He was going to get hurt; no one knew what could happen if a human fell into the time stream. They could end in another time period, get amnesia, even disappear completely! Cavendish rushed to his friend and tried to grab his hand.

He never reached it.

Upon realizing what his partner was about to do, Dakota had started swinging just enough to deliver a strong kick directly to Cavendish’s chest, sending him back to the safer part of the vehicle again. Dakota just couldn’t risk it. If Balthazar grabbed his arm and tried to pull him inside, there was a good chance the combined weight made them lose their balance, and then both of them could fall into the time stream.

 _Balthazar_ could fall into the time stream, and Dakota was not going to allow that.

He was also very aware the kick would make his hand slip.

“Sorry, Cav;” Was the last thing Dakota was able to mutter before his hand gave out and he started plummeting into the colorful swirls.

Dakota!” Cavendish rushed forwards again, but it was too late. He could only watch as his friend fell, pure horror plastered over his face. “Vinnie!

Dakota could see his own arms and legs swaying in front of him. He was absolutely terrified. Cavendish was screaming something, but all the sound seemed to be muted. It didn’t matter, though, because Cavendish was in the car. Cavendish was safe. Cavendish could still live and be happy and maybe someday, perhaps, he would understand how amazing he was. Sadly, Dakota would not be able to be there to see it. But it was alright. Cavendish was safe.

He closed his eyes.

“ _VINNIE!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic also includes a blog where you can ask questions directly to the characters!
> 
> You can check it out here: https://askanl.tumblr.com/


	3. The Ring

Dakota woke up in bed.

He groaned, feeling completely drowsy. What a weird nightmare. The Italian was very familiar with those kinds of dreams (there were a couple years where intense, fear-crippling nightmares were the only thing he had at night), but usually they were about Cavendish. Mostly about Cavendish dying. Dakota was not used to being the one meeting his doom in his own dreams, but he considered it better than the alternative, so eh. It was just a nightmare, anyway.

The Italian rubbed his eyes and stretched his neck a bit, petting the soft sheets covering his body. Though the curtains were closed, a bright line of light came from the sides of the windows, indicating the sun had already risen. He could hear birds chirping outside and some wind. Dakota hoped the day wouldn’t be too windy, though, it was hard enough to leave the bliss of the soft pillows surrounding him and change his comfy pajamas for the tracksuit.

Which was also comfy, but that was not the point.

Grumbling hoarsely, he decided to close his eyes again. If it was morning already, his time until Cavendish forced him to wake up was in countdown already, so Dakota would rather enjoy his last minutes in bed. A soft smile set on his lips, thinking about his dream and how could he share it with his best friend. It actually had been quite heroic! They saved the entire city, Cavendish would for sure find that endearing. Maybe with some luck, Dakota would even manage to make him laugh. That was always worth the day.

Besides, it was his turn to choose breakfast. Double win! He could mumble that to Cav already; he couldn’t be too far since, after all, they slept on that crappy couch bed in their windowless tiny office…

…

_Wait._

_WAIT._

Dakota’s eyes popped open as he sat in the bed. The bed. _A bed!_ A proper, comfortable bed full of pillows and twice the size the poor thing he was supposed to be sleeping on was. And pajamas?! He didn’t own pajamas, they needed the space when they were banned to the past and he had to get rid of most of his clothes. He always slept with a shirt and his underwear, since they were living in their office now!

But this was not their office.

This was a proper bedroom.

Vinnie rushed to one of the nightstands and turned the light on, hissing in discomfort when it hit his eyes. Scanning the area blindly with his hands, he was able to locate his sunglasses and put them on, easing the pain the bright light was inflicting to his eyes. Much better. Once Dakota was able to see again, the room came into view around him.

It looked familiar. The walls were painted with a vivid orange that reminded Dakota of his own bedroom back in the future, when he still lived alone. Besides the bed covered in cream sheets and the two nightstands next to it, there was also a closet, a full-body mirror and some windows covered with old-fashioned draped curtains; the kind of tacky thing Cavendish would use. The bed frame (and all the furniture, for that matter) were much more contemporary, though; with clear lines and use of mixed light and dark wood. If Dakota had known anything about indoor design, he could have said the shapes were for the most part very eclectic.

He left the bed, carefully hugging himself. The logical answer was that something had happened and a stranger had taken Dakota to their house; which still sounded creepy, but was a more bearable thought than any alternative. Maybe this was some kind of bizarre dream. The floor was warm and his pajamas’ soft texture felt out of place over his skin.

Vinnie didn’t quite understand why he was holding his breath when he reached for the door; but when he opened it, his heart was racing uncontrollably. It was so bright at the other side that, for a second, all the Italian could see was white. Slowly, his eyes adapted to the light and he started identifying the shapes and colors around him.

Yep, this was definitely an apartment; small, but incredibly cozy. The open area in front of Dakota joined a colorful living room with two cushy-looking orange sofas full of pillows and blankets, with a white kitchen with retro red appliances. Plenty of windows (all of them framed with olive curtains) bathed the place in a warm light. In a corner there was a small cute circular table that reminded Dakota of a fancy tea party, all kinds of pictures and patterns were scattered around the walls, a big fluffy rug adorned the floor, and one of the coolest TVs Dakota had ever seen rested next to an equally impressive set of electronics. Vinnie thought he could hear the faint singing of a canary somewhere.

He was so busy gazing around that he didn’t notice the person in the kitchen until they moved.

“Ah, sorry, just woke up here and…” Dakota mumbled, trying to be polite with what he hoped was a nice stranger trying to help and not some kind of _Misery_ situation.

But then, he looked at the person approaching.

Cavendish stood in front of him, calmy holding a cup of tea in one hand and a mug in the other, with the most relaxed and pleased expression Dakota could conceive. Though he was already dressed, his usual 1870s five-piece suit was nowhere to be seen, and the Brit was wearing instead a simpler suit cut by the 21st century standard with a cardigan vest under it. At least the colors were pretty much the same, but still… he looked so odd. Dakota had never seen him wearing anything similar to that in the ten years they knew each other. To make it even weirder, Cavendish was not wearing his signature hat, a piece of clothes the Italian knew for a fact the Brit adored; and some of his hair was not completely slicked back, a playful lock dropping over his forehead. That would usually make the taller man hysterical; but on it’s place, he was just placidly smiling at Dakota.

“Good morning, sleepyhead;” Cavendish offered far too sweetly.

Okay, WEIRD.

Still, Dakota tried to swallow the awkwardness. Sure everything would have a perfectly reasonable explanation if he just asked. He was overthinking the whole thing.

“Hey Cav,” He greeted with his best try at a smile. “What happened? Don’t remember goin’ to bed…”

“You fell asleep when we were watching an action movie about a cat agent,” Cavendish explained as he tended the mug to him. Oh, that explained the weird dream. “You were completely out, so I had to carry you to bed. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Nah man, all good,” Dakota accepted the mug. Cool, black coffee, just what he needed. “Thanks. But where are we? Did ya rent this? Are they fumigating the office again? This is better than the motel we got last time…”

Dakota sipped his coffee and waited for the imminent scoff and lecture about his poor memory that would ensue. To be fair, he deserved it this time. What kind of person asked what happened the prior day to such extent? But he honestly couldn’t remember. And as much as Cav complained, he never denied him a proper explanation when Dakota had problems recalling an event.

Instead, Cavendish chuckled. “Always so amusing with your jokes. This is our home, my dear.”

Dakota spitted the coffee and choked.

_Home?_

_When…? Where…? How…?_

_…_

_MY DEAR?_

“Cav, _oh my gosh_ Cav,” Dakota coughed trying to regain himself. “What the Hell are ya talkin’ about? What did you call me?”

Cavendish tilted his head, as if he of all people had the right to be confused. “Are you alright? Is something bothering you?”

“Did ya, like, bought this while I was sleeping? Is this some bizarre British prank day I’m unaware of? We could never afford this!” He paused. “And for how long was I asleep, anyway? You can’t just…”

“You look a little stressed. Would you prefer some chocolate for breakfast, perhaps? I got some splendid croissants from the bakery;” Cavendish merely smiled.

“Okay, now you’re scaring me!” The Italian babbled. He was freaking out. “What is this place?!”

Cavendish didn’t answer, just sipped his tea calmly. Dakota’s eyes furiously analyzed everything in sight trying to make sense of the bizarre situation, and only then he realized that this was not, indeed, a random apartment.

Next to the TV there was a bookcase with all of Dakota’s favorite movies and shows, including a special edition of _Back to the Future_ and a nice collection of the _Doctor Zone_ series. In the kitchen, he recognized Cavendish’s favorite tea kettle resting alongside little containers of his preferred mixes, not far from an open package of Dakota’s favorite cookies. Dennis and Adam, their matching teddy bears, were resting on the sofa; and Dakota’s harmonica was laying on the table casually. On closer inspection, he noticed the pictures hanging on the wall were pictures of _them_!

One caught Dakota’s eye. He recognized the picture, it was a family portrait he had done with his mother and siblings when he was around five. Not knowing what else to do at this point, the Italian simply got closer to it. As everything around him, the picture was off.

“What the…” he muttered. That was, indeed, his mother and his seven older siblings, in the same place the photo had been taken years ago. Vinnie was still in the center, sitting on the couch of his childhood home (or to be specific, childhood trailer).

But it was wrong.

He was smiling.

Dakota was certain he had not been smiling in that picture. None of them were. It had been a messy day full of arguments and fights, and his mother settled for the only picture where at least they didn’t look about to munder each other. Now though, in the image in front of him, his mother was smiling. Everyone was smiling.

And she wasn’t smoking. And what was with their clothes, why did they all look so… old-fashioned? And was that man in the picture his father...? It couldn’t be. Dakota found himself hyperventilating, pinching his hands furiously in a futile attempt to wake up again. Cavendish couldn't have organized all this just to scare him, could he? He thought hiding under a blanket was an effective way to spook an adult!

So, following the only thought he was able to process through the panic filling him, Dakota rushed to the other pictures. He and Cavendish making faces at the camera, he and Cavendish at the beach (when did that happen?), he and Cavendish at the zoo, he and Cavendish getting married, he and Cavendish in…

...

... ... ...

Dakota stopped dead in his tracks and slowly came back to the wedding picture. _A wedding picture_. A wedding picture clearly showing him with an informal black suit and an orange bow tie; and Cavendish in the most gorgeous, pure white suit he has ever seen. Which was not the relevant part, because suit or not, that was a wedding picture

_A wedding picture._

_A wedding picture._

Okay. It was decided, he definitely hit his head or something and was having a stroke.

“Oh, I also adore this one,” Cavendish walked next to him casually, like Dakota wasn’t having the biggest meltdown of his life. “You looked so handsome… more than usual. I’m still impressed at how gorgeous the Botanical Garden looked that evening, almost like an enchanted forest. It was such a perfect day.”

“Cavendish,” Dakota started talking, and his voice sounded devoid of any emotion. With his eyes wide open and his mouth twitching weirdly, he slowly turned his head to his partner. “If this is a joke, it’s not _funny_.”

“Why in Heaven’s name would I joke about this?” Cavendish sipped his tea again, unconcerned.

“We aren’t married, Cav, we…” Dakota was trying to convince himself of the fact more than his supposed husband, but as he gesticulated with his hands to emphasize the point, he saw something shining in his left hand.

“Please tell me I’m not wearing a ring,” He mumbled, pale as a sheet, knowing the answer already. That was, unmistakably, a wedding band.

Cavendish chuckled. “You know, after five years, pretending to be surprised about the ring doesn’t really work anymore, love.”

At that precise moment, Dakota felt his entire world shattering to pieces inside him.

Overwhelmed and unable to take any new piece of information, he left the mug of coffee on a table and felt blindly around him, looking for something ( _anything_ ) to sit on. Once he noticed the sofa, he let himself collapse between the pillows with a whimper, not really caring if it made some of them fall in the process. He couldn’t close his mouth. He couldn’t blink. He couldn’t do anything.

“Five years… since what…?” Dakota was only able to muster after what he was pretty sure were several minutes.

“Our wedding,” Cavendish replied. He was sitting next to him (when did he sit next to him?).

“And this is…” The brunette gesticulated vaguely around them.

“Our home, which we bought seven years ago,” His partner (husband?) enunciated slowly like it was obvious information.

Dakota was still clinging to the hope this was, somehow, a really elaborate prank. He looked at his shaking hands and the ring on his finger. Blinking slowly, he tried to remove it, but it was stuck; leaving a mark around the skin like only something kept in the same place for several years would. This was not something you could just fake, even if Cavendish had managed to slip the ring into his finger while Dakota was sleeping.

Which wouldn’t make sense anyway!

“So you’re… I’m your…” Vinnie tried. His mouth felt impossibly dry.

“My husband?” Cavendish raised an eyebrow like Dakota _(Dakota!)_ was the one pulling a prank on him. “Are you certain you don’t have a fever, love? You’re acting quite strange.”

_Wh-_

“WHAT THE FUCK, CAV?!” The Italian snapped, getting on his feet. “I’M THE ONE ACTING STRANGE? I wake up to this completely random place, MARRIED with my co-worker, who is calling me pet names, with some kind of bizarre altered past, and _I’M THE ONE ACTING STRANGE?”_

Cavendish looked at him and blinked, but didn’t attempt to speak.

“You can’t just… this is not… we’re not married, Cavendish! I had a crush on ya for like years, if this was even a possibility I would know! And what’s with the picture?!” Dakota pointed at the family portrait. “This is _not_ how that picture is supposed to look, we were not a happy family, ‘kay? It's wrong!” He turned to a near bookcase. “And look at this shit, is this a special edition Doctor Zone figure? I wanted this since it came out years ago and never could afford it! It’s discontinued, I know for sure I never bought it!”

His focus returned to Cavendish’s. “And-and-and look at ya! What’s wrong with your clothes? Where’s your Professor Time’s outfit? Where’s your hat?”

“Professor Time?” Cavendish tilted his head.

“You-you said if you dressed like your hero, you’ll have better luck! Don’t you remember? Back in the future, when we worked for the Bureau!”

“The… Bureau…?”

“The Bureau of Time Travel! B.o.T.T.! Our job for like ten years! Your dream career!”

“Vinnie, dear, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“OH NO, DON’T YOU PULL THIS ON ME!” Dakota grabbed his head. It hurt so much. He sat again, whimpering. “This can’t be happenin’... this has to be like some weird dream or somethin’, maybe I ate too much candy and now I’m havin’ a nightmare…” He paused a moment. “‘Kay, not a nightmare, I’m not saying being married to ya would be a nightmare; it’s more like actually the best thing I can think of. But it’s not real, cuz this is not… it just can’t be…

“I mean, it looks real, but how the heck does this just happen out of nowhere? It’s like one of those 90s movies where people wake up in the body of another person and have a family or some shit, but this is not how alternate dimensions actually work, right? I mean, I don’t remember much ‘bout that part from the time traveling courses, but this is not some corny Christmas movie, come on!

“I don’t even… it all feels so blurry… all I can remember is we were in the time stream, and then you were about to fall, and then… and then…”

Suddenly, all his focus disappeared.

During his rant, Dakota didn't notice Cavendish had been staring at him. He hadn’t noticed either that the older man had been slowly leaning closer; and when their lips met, everything in Dakota’s brain shut down.

Cavendish was kissing him.

_Cavendish. Was. Kissing. Him._

For a moment, Vinnie just wanted to jump back and scream. His cheeks were burning, his head was spiraling, and his heart was pounding against his chest so strongly that he thought he was going to pass out. It felt like fireworks, like an explosion, like a fire. It was too much, too much.

But then, Dakota started to actually feel the kiss. The soft lips of Cavendish nibbling his own, his delicate warm skin, the incredibly sweet way his friend was touching his cheek. The world simply stopped, and Vinnie found himself melting at the feeling. Melting at the touch of those lips, melting at the idea Cavendish, _his Cavendish_ , was kissing him. It was wonderful, simply just too wonderful to consider anything else in the world.

Something white flashed on his eyes and, for a moment, Dakota didn’t feel as concerned about his situation anymore.

Cavendish leaned back a little and looked at Dakota with his stunning crystal teal eyes. “Vinnie?”

“ _Mhm-mmh…_?” Is all what Dakota was able to muster in response. A silly smile was plastered over his face, and his eyes were completely lost in bliss. Even his arms were limp as his sides. He was in the clouds.

“Everything is fine, my dear,” Cavendish smiled. “Now, please stop looking so perfectly adorable or I won’t be able to leave to the office. You should get dressed for work too.”

With a chuckle, Cavendish pinched Dakota’s cheek and kissed him again briefly before getting up and walking back to the kitchen. For a few more seconds, Dakota’s eyes remained lost, still not processing the kiss. His heart was full and his mouth refused to close.

Then the Italian snapped back to reality.

“Wait… work?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic also includes a blog where you can ask questions directly to the characters!
> 
> You can check it out here: https://askanl.tumblr.com/


	4. The System

“Dakota!” Cavendish rushed forwards again, but it was too late. He could only watch as his friend fell, pure horror plastered over his face. “Vinnie!”

_“VINNIE!”_

Everything started flashing white and mere seconds later, Balthazar found himself looking at concrete ground instead of the time stream.

The Brit blinked, raising his head. The vehicle had almost skidded to his destination, and the wheels were covered in fire. The tires had left a burning mark on the ground behind what was left of the limo, and Cavendish was lucky to find himself in the middle of a mostly empty parking lot, because the speed clearly could have killed him if he crashed against something.

Not knowing what else to do, Cavendish hurried to the control panel of the car to check the time. Year 2176. _Oh no_. He was in his original time period in the future, and even worse, the place he had just burnt was B.o.T.T.’s parking lot. Blast, he was not supposed to be time traveling at all, he was in big trouble…!

Another car appeared at his side, and before Balthazar had time to even panic, Brick and Savannah were in front of him. A wave of anxiety invaded Cavendish, leaving him unable to speak a single word. There was no way they didn’t know exactly what happened.

“Oh my gosh, Cavendish!” Savannah leaned into the remains of the time limousine. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” The Brit mumbled, not being able to process properly why two better agents were looking at him not with disdain, but concern.

“You saved us!” Brick offered him a hand getting out of the car and Cavendish took it gingerly. Brick grinned at him. “That was quite a feat you pulled back there! We never gave you enough credit, that’s for sure.”

“We did…?” Balthazar ignored the pain in his head and tried to focus on the conversation. Well, they really did an amazing job, didn’t they?

They… they… we…

_Dakota!_

“Dakota!” Cavendish exclaimed, frantically looking around him. “Dakota fell into the time stream! We must go back to find him immediately!”

“Who?” Brick frowned.

“Now it’s not the time for such tomfoolery! I know you don’t like him, but that’s no excuse to be so careless about his safety!” The Brit pointed out, still frantic and honestly, a little annoyed. How could they joke around like that when Dakota was in danger?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about;” Savannah stated, shrugging.

“Come on, Cavendish;” Brick put a hand on the lanky man’s back and pushed gently, forcing him to walk. “We have to tell Mr. Block about what you did.”

“But I’m not supposed to be here, I…” Cavendish mumbled. His pleas went ignored.

His thoughts were going a thousand miles a minute. What happened? Everything was going so well, they somehow had defeated all the bad guys, they rescued three agents (one of them a cat, but considering Cavendish already knew a platypus agent, it wasn’t as surprising), and saved the city from a bomb! And they had been so close to leaving the time stream unharmed… just a minute, just another minute and everything would have been okay.

Well, maybe not. If the car had left when Dakota was still hanging from it; he would be a burnt mess in the pavement right now, so thank Heavens that wasn’t the case. Still! If Dakota hadn’t kicked him out of nowhere and let Cavendish help him back into the car, everything would be alright now!

But that was the thing! Just WHY did Dakota do that? _Why why why why?_

“Cooperdink!” A harsh voice interrupted his train of thought and Balthazar blinked, confused. “Are you listening or what?”

Cavendish realized they were no longer in the parking lot. How long had they been walking? Instead, this was a familiar room, one Cavendish only used to have the displeasure of visiting when he was being scolded, demoted and screamed at: Mr. Block's office. The huge windows bathed the place with bright light as the flying cars from the future passed by, a peaceful image that didn’t resemble the turmoil inside Cavendish’s head in the slightest. His old boss was looking at him from his desk, frowning with the deep disdain the Brit used well to being shown.

Which was only natural, of course. Cavendish knew he was just a big, useless failure.

“Cooperdink!” Mr. Block repeated, his yell louder this time, and only then Cavendish registered he was talking to him. “Stop staring at the wall and tell me; did you really go and interrupt Brick and Savannah’s mission like a bloody idiot?”

“Yes, sir!” Cavendish answered quickly out of habit, only to realize immediately after what he was saying yes to. “I mean, I DID interrupt, however I assure you I… we… the cars… I thought we could…” He felt tiny and dumb, babbling words he wasn’t able to even connect.

Savannah cut him off. “For once, we’re not here to complain. Though Cavendish did get involved in our mission, that turned out to be… helpful.”

“I hate to admit it,” Brick added. “But Cavendish here actually did a great job.”

“Really?” Block raised an eyebrow.

“We didn’t estimate the forces of the enemy correctly,” Savannah explained. “Although we managed to stop most of the henchmen, some escaped our attempts. The extra minions, in addition to the son of the target and his powerful robot assistant, were already becoming a struggle we had not anticipated.”

“Things were going so badly we were forced to seek help from…” Brick stuck his tongue out. “...O.W.C.A.”

“That zoo-like division that thinks it’s cooler than anyone else because they were the first to employ animals?” Mr. Block hissed.

“Yes, sir. They sent us an agent,” Brick growled, displeased.

“Even with the help,” Savannah interrupted. “We were having trouble getting close enough to the target to disarm the bomb. It was then that Cavendish appeared, out of nowhere!”

“We thought he was going to ruin the mission since, well…” Brick glanced at Cavendish, half-apologetically. “Track record. But he did not.”

“In fact, Cavendish here managed to distract the henchmen all by himself, so the O.W.C.A. agent could capture them. He sidetracked the attention of the target, persuaded him to delay the activation of the bomb, created an improvised magnet to capture the robot and disarm the enemy-” Savannah listed enthusiastically.

“Freed the agent so it could help us, incapacted the son of the target, retrieved the bomb from him and then used the time limousine to dispose of it in a safe location!” Brick chirped.

“We have checked, he didn’t even alter the timeline doing so!” Savannah showed her communicator with the data to his boss. “We had to use one of the emergency time cars once we made sure everything was under control by the authorities, but still it’s a miracle the mission was completed with no further complications.”

“And it's all thanks to Cavendish!” Brick smiled, giving the Brit a hardy (perhaps too hardy) slap on the back. Cavendish yelped, eyes wide. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Only you would have the audacity to turn out to be competent ONLY after I fired you,” Mr. Block growled. “Whatever, in the name of the Bureau of Time Travel and our country, we thank you for your assistance and blah blah blah, “ He rolled his eyes. “Now I guess we have to address that APPARENTLY you’re not a disaster and I made a mistake.”

Cavendish was mortified, because even if it was veiled and grumpy in typical Mr. Block’s fashion, that was unmistakable _praise_. Praise of his actions. _Of him_. The Brit felt like the whole world was spinning, he had wanted to hear those words for a decade, and it was finally happening! Mr. Block was saying that he was worthy, that he made a difference; that he, Balthazar Tiberius Cavendish, had actually saved the day! He did it! He proved his worth!

He finally did it!

Oh, such a joyful event! Cavendish’s cheeks were hurting, and it took him a while to realize it was because he was grinning so much. He felt like jumping around, like singing, like-!

“...ish! Would you stop zoning out on me?” Mr. Block’s voice again. Everyone was staring at Balthazar now. Oh no. How much time had passed since the last sentence he listened to? “Keep in mind I would never do this if it wasn’t for these two here, so you better be grateful.”

Cavendish looked at his old boss, furiously avoiding the urge to fidget. “I am, sir…”

“So let me ask again, and I swear to Hell it’s the last time,” Mr. Block continued. “Are you interested in getting your position back at the Bureau? With real missions this time, no more pistachios.”

If hearts could jump literally, Cavendish would have lost his.

“Sir, nothing would make me more honored!” He blurted without thinking. Heavens gracious, this was the best news he could possibly have received! “I would have to speak with your great-great-great-grandfather first, however, since we’re currently employed at P.I.G. and…”

“Yeah, yeah, leave that part to me,” Block waved his hand dismissively. “You better not make me regret giving you this second chance!”

“We will not, sir, I assure you,” Cavendish stated, trying to contain his excitement. Brick and Savannah glanced at him and smiled, finding his reaction enterainting.

“Great, because… wait, ‘we’?” His boss paused. “Who else are you talking about?”

“Well, of course… Dakota?” Cavendish offered, suddenly feeling very insecure. “My partner? Who did half of those things? Who obviously deserves the same offer…?”

The others looked at Cavendish with such confusion in their eyes that it caused him to feel quite offended. They couldn’t possibly be suggesting only offering the job to him, right? That would be in such bad taste! Dakota had been the one that helped the cat agent, the one that distracted the evil scientist, the one that had the time limo idea to get rid of the bomb, and also the one that had saved him in…!

_In…_

“DAKOTA! Good heavens, I almost forgot Dakota!” The Brit had been so overwhelmed with new information than his worry had been dormant; but upon remembering the situation, anxiety overpowered him at full force. “I need your assistance immediately, Dakota has fallen in the time stream and could be in great danger!”

Cavendish was almost running towards the door when he noticed no one was following him. He turned around in panic, only to see Block, Brick and Savannah looking at him like he was crazy. They couldn’t be serious! This was an urgent matter!

“I must insist, Dakota is out there and we have to-!” He pleaded. Suddenly, he felt Brick’s arm resting over his shoulders.

“Ooooooh, I get it now. It’s a joke!” The first-class agent laughed. “Yeah, people from Dakota really seem like they have fallen in the time stream with this new tacky hipster trend.”

“What? No, I-!”

“You can be witty sometimes,” Savannah smiled, heading to the door. “Anyway, I still don’t like you, but when I’m wrong I say I’m wrong; and I was wrong about you. Who knows, maybe you really just needed a chance.”

“And now you have one,” Brick punched his shoulder lightly before following Savannah. “Don’t blow it.”

_Don’t blow it._

Well, Cavendish certainly didn’t want to blow it. This was the best opportunity they had in years. They would finally have the chance to be real agents, save the world, do some actual good! There was nothing the Brit desired more than make a difference, protect people and become someone others could trust with their safety. It wasn’t about fame or money or praise (though who didn’t enjoy those things too?), it was entirely about being valuable. Worthy. About helping others, about avoiding wars and saving people, about being a hero. Someone a little child could look up to and think “I want to be like him because I want the world to be better”, just like Professor Time had been for his younger self. So much time and resources wasted on him… Cavendish had to make sure it wasn’t all for nothing. He could still be someone that deserved to be around.

For his parents, for his bosses, for his peers. And of course, for Dakota.

He needed to take deep breaths and manage the situation like a professional. Panic would serve nothing to save his partner.

“Sir, I need a word,” The Brit ventured, as calmly as he was able to muster.

“Are you still here?” Mr. Block groaned. He had already come back to his paperwork. “If you ask for a raise already, I swear to all gods alive I’m going to personally make sure you turn into dust.”

“No, sir. It’s not that,” Cavendish assured quickly. “It’s just that I have noticed certain… irregularity concerning the current situation.

“Don’t beat around the bush, I have work to do.”

Cavendish took another deep breath. “Does the name Vinnie Dakota mean anything to you, sir?”

“If you’re trying to sell me a cult, I’m happy with my current religion,” Block frowned.

“Does it?” Cavendish pressed. He needed an answer.

“No, Coop… Cavendish, I have never heard that name in my life,” His boss stated. “And I wouldn’t want to know the loser that has to go around with a name like that, anyway.”

“He’s not a loser!” Cavendish snapped.

Mr. Block looked at him again and growled. He was losing his patience. “Look, my job isn’t easy. I deal with a lot of stress, and a lot is produced by incompetent agents like you that never seem able to do their work right but I cannot fire anyway because this is a government agency and every decision takes ages to be approved. But each time you messed up, who do you think had to fix the paperwork, explain it to investors, excuse it to the central? Someone has to pay for mistakes, Cavendish, and that someone is always me.

“So let me be very clear with you. I don’t like you, I never did and I probably never will, but I’m not selfish or stupid enough to let that blind me from potential. If two of my best agents storm into my office and assure me you are capable of doing the job, I’m giving you another chance. Even if you’re as socially inept as always and keep dressing like a watered-down version of Professor Time.

“Now, this doesn’t mean you’re safe from being fired again, and my patience is very limited. So, unless you want me to reconsider the decisions I made during the last hour and a half; I strongly suggest you to turn around, cross that door and leave me alone the rest of the day while I try to convince myself this whole thing isn’t a huge mistake.”

He leaned over the desk.

“Did I communicate this clearly enough?”

Cavendish didn’t find enough strength in him to protest. In fact, he didn’t even find enough strength to answer. He simply turned around and did exactly as he was told.

But that didn’t ease his anxiety. What was the deal with everyone today? They couldn’t possibly have forgotten about Dakota, they had only been away for about a year, and they did remember Cavendish without issues. With all the pranks and jokes Dakota had pulled on Mr. Block during the years, how could he forget about him? As for Brick and Savannah, Cavendish didn’t even know what to think.

In any case, that strange case of memory loss had an easy fix. If they didn’t remember Dakota, it was as simple as taking his old profile file, refreshing their memory; and they all could go to save his dear friend immediately.

Besides, he couldn’t wait for Dakota to learn the great news! They would be on missions again in no time. Sure, Dakota acted like he prefered the janitor job, but that surely couldn’t be the case, right? Though, of course, Cavendish would have to remind him that time traveling to the past to save his life was absolutely forbidden this time.

Well… maybe that was easier said than done. Cavendish felt guilty about being the reason Dakota was breaking the rules, but he couldn’t deny he also felt immensely thankful. He didn’t want to die (a couple hundred times, apparently!) and… yes, Dakota shouldn’t be breaking the time law just to keep him around, but how could Cavendish be upset about _that_? Dakota was his best friend. He was selfless and caring, he was funny, and clever, and perceptive, and personable, and han-

Cavendish cut that thought off.

Not the time. He needed to find the reception now.

“Cavendish! I haven’t seen you in a while,” The receptionist greeted once the man reached the place. She was a young woman that used to enjoy joking around with Dakota when they worked there.

“I was fired, Melanie,” Cavendish explained flatly. He thought she knew. They hadn’t come around in over a year, after all.

“Ah, well, you know how the time traveling business works; sometimes agents come back years later from missions, sometimes even before the mission was supposed to start,” She laughed. “But I’m sorry about that. Did you get a new job?”

“Yes… however, right now I’m quite in a hurry. Could you please check something really quickly for me?”

“Of course!”

“I need the file of Dakota, if you’d be so kind.”

“Dakota what-more?” Melanie asked, writing on the computer.

“Well, Dakota- I mean…” Cavendish raised an eyebrow. He didn’t expect her to ask. Did she forget about Dakota too? How? They interacted a lot more than Cavendish ever did! “I meant to say Vincent Dakota. The name is Vincent Dakota.”

“Right, coming right along,” She smiled. “How come you’re here?”

“We, uh… I have been hired again as an agent,” Cavendish replied, feeling a weird mix of joy and dread about the news.

“That’s great!” Melanie added, but then her brow furrowed as she looked at the screen. “Are you sure it’s ‘Vincent Dakota’?”

“Of course I am,” Cavendish was starting to feel very irritated about the whole thing. It was not a name that was hard to remember.

“Sorry, Cavendish. You must have mistaken your friend’s name or something. His name is not in the system.”

Cavendish eyes grew wide, slowly processing the words. “Pardon?”

“He’s not in the system.”

“What does that mean?”

Melanie smiled at him apologetically.

“It means that the Bureau of Time Travel, at any point in the past, the present or the future; has never had anyone working for them by the name of Vincent Dakota.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic also includes a blog where you can ask questions directly to the characters!
> 
> You can check it out here: https://askanl.tumblr.com/


	5. The Zoo

Dakota stared at the car’s side mirror, tapping his feet anxiously. Cavendish was driving, humming along to something playing on the radio, but honestly Dakota couldn’t focus on the music. It felt like an entire eternity had passed since he woke up that morning.

First the apartment, then the ring, then the kiss and then… he wasn’t quite sure. Dakota had just kinda disassociated at that point, following whatever basic instruction he received. Cavendish told him to get dressed in what was on the bed, so he did. And he brushed his teeth, ate, went outside and got into the car without saying a word, because, frankly, his mind was blank. Cavendish didn’t even seem bothered by the fact he was acting pretty much just like a lobotomized zombie, and had guided Dakota gently all the way there. Vinnie didn’t really remember doing any of those things himself, but well; he was in the car, his mouth tasted like mint and croissant and whatever he was wearing now, it was not pajamas.

“So…” Ugh. Talking felt wrong. “Where are we going…?”

“I’m driving you to work,” Cavendish explained with a relaxed smile. “And then I’m going to the office. I know we used to do it the other way around, but now that my firm has provided us with personal parking spaces, it seems more logical this way.”

“Right…” Dakota muttered and averted his gaze to the windows again. He was tempted to ask what his job was, exactly, but he simply had no energy to say another word.

Not even the car was right. For starters, this was supposed to be their agency-provided time travel car, but apparently, Cavendish had no idea what time travel was (well, he understood the concept behind it, but not much more). Instead, it seemed to be their personal vehicle, and it didn’t look old or in bad shape at all. In fact, the car was in better condition than Dakota had ever seen it, even when they had originally received it years ago. It even smelled like fresh pine! It creeped him out.

It took Dakota a minute to realize they had stopped and Cavendish was looking at him like he was expecting something.

“Yeah, uh…”

“We’re here, my dear,” The Brit offered. “Please take care today, I’ll pick you up at the end of your shift. And remember to eat at least one piece of fruit, you promised!”

“Sure, yeah, gonna do that, gonna, uh… eat fruit,” Dakota mumbled getting out of the car. He could be literally riding a rollercoaster right now and feel less dizzy.

He looked at the tall barn door in front of him and wondered for a moment where the Hell he was, until he saw the (quite obvious) sign over it: the zoo. Cavendish had dropped him at Danville’s Zoo. Dakota turned around to ask some more questions (actually, a thousand more questions), but his partner… uh, _husband_ , had already driven away. By the context, the only explanation seemed to be that he worked there.

Dakota quickly confirmed the hypothesis when, for the first time that day, he actually checked the clothes he was wearing. Brown shorts, mustard and black hiking shoes, a visor hat, and a cream shirt with a tag announcing “Zoo” over his chest, so visible in the bright deep blue and magenta color it sported, Dakota wondered how the heck he missed the detail before. Well, okay, so apparently he worked at the zoo. Great.

Except he had no idea how to do that!

“You!” The man heard a feminine voice and froze. Shit: that was Savannah’s. After Cavendish and him got all over her and Brick’s mission, she had to be absolutely livid. Dakota had been close enough with her in the past (they had even been partners for a while) to know you never, ever, wanted to be on her bad side.

“Hey, Savannah…” He greeted, though honestly all his instincts told him to run. Dakota was usually not scared of being scolded, but it was being a weird day already; and the fact both she and Brick were approaching him with the exact same uniform he wore was not helping at all. “New clothes?”

“I can’t believe what you did!” Savannah seemed irritated, leaning forwards to Dakota and pointing her nail to his chest. She squinted her eyes, accusatory. The Italian noticed she was wearing her hair in a pigtail and the same visor as him. She looked odd that way.

“Okay, just let me explain, eh? I can…”

“You didn’t tell us Cavendish won his last case!” The woman’s expression shifted and she grinned, punching Dakota in the shoulder playfully. “Congratulations! I bet you have a whole romantic evening planned to celebrate already.”

Dakota blinked veeery slowly, his gazy going forth and back between Brick and Savannah. They were smiling; in fact, Brick’s smile was so bright it looked quite dumb on him. The Italian opened his mouth, closed it again and just rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly, like the answer was in the touch he had just experienced. He could feel himself entering some kind of catatonic state again.

But he needed answers.

It was clear that he was not supposed to be there, but apparently he had an established life and relationships, so maybe he had replaced a Dakota from another dimension…? So was his other self in his original place now? Or was he still around, and would come out of nowhere later and accuse Dakota of “stealing his life”? Maybe he was a clone or something, or a ghost, or maybe this was his Danville but some bizarre time traveling accident had changed everything! _Ugh!_ Theorized scenarios weren’t going to help him.

What would help, though, was getting information; and that Dakota could manage. He needed to check if Brick and Savannah were as off as Cavendish was, and if that was the case… freaking out wouldn't make him any good. Instead, Vinnie would be more successful pretending to play their narrative, whatever it was.

“Yeeaaah, sorry about that,” He lied. “I… uh… totally gonna tell you cuz I’m sooo proud he’s, ya know, a…” Dakota clicked his tongue, pretending he forgot the word.

“A lawyer!” Brick almost chirped, the same big smile on his face. “I love lawyers, they’re like superheroes but with ties! Except for very fancy superheroes, they would wear ties.”

Okay, so this Brick was dumb and happy. Vinnie was sure there was a word for that. “Yeah, totally. He’s doing super good, and look at me here, being just a… a…”

“What are you talking about? You love being a zookeeper!” Savannah giggled. “Come on, we’re your best friends, we’re not gonna fall for this prank.”

“...again,” Brick added cheerily.

“Uh, of course. Ya know me, I can _bearly_ contain myself,” Dakota regretted his awful pun as soon as it left his lips, bit it was an automatic response to stress and he was busy thinking about how supportive this Savannah looked.

He was absolutely not ready for the other two to burst laughing.

“How didn’t I think of that in all the years we have been working here?” Savannah chuckled. “You’re hilarious, Vinn!”

“It’s funny because we’re not bears!” Brick smiled.

Dakota couldn’t contain a tiny giggle. Well, okay, maybe it was a little funny. He was so used to others finding his jokes obnoxious (and he himself using them with that exact purpose) that it felt oddly satisfying to have people laughing at them. If the whole thing wasn’t otherwise super creepy, he could get used to this Brick and Savannah.

“We have a full schedule today,” The Latina commented, looking through a clipboard while she guided the three of them across the facilities. “Brick, you`re starting with the otters, they need to be weighed and check if Puddles is eating well. I’ll be in the aviary cleaning the nests. Vinn, you have a talk first thing in the morning. Lucky you!”

“A talk?” Dakota went pale.

“A school is coming in about thirty minutes. They’re doing a project about the giant panda, and of course, they requested you as the speaker.”

“No no wait, I can’t do that! What the Hell am I gonna tell them?”

Savannah chuckled. “Why don’t you start by explaining their diet?”

“That’s just… bamboo… they only eat bamboo,” Dakota paused a moment. “Which is weird, because that makes them the only mainly herbivore bear on Earth. It’s not technically just bamboo, but for the most part; which I guess makes sense, cuz the amount a growing giant panda needs to sustain themselves is so high they’re the only animal capable of stopping it from growing out of control, since bamboo is a really invasive species…”

“See? You got it already,” Savannah encouraged him, and only then Dakota realized he had been rambling. They were now inside a building he could only guess was meant to be the staff room. “The kids will love to hear about what pandas eat.”

“We eat too!” Brick added happily, offering a box to the other two. “Cookies? I baked them this morning.”

“Eh… no thanks…” Dakota refused, though the chocolate treat certainly looked delicious. He was just not hungry at all, which was weird. “I know a couple things ‘bout pandas, but I don’t think…”

“Come on, you’ll be able to hold a baby panda during it!” Savannah smiled, and the Italian perked immediately.

“A baby panda…?”

So there was Dakota; in front of the Asian exhibit, fidgeting with the microphone attached to his ear, a group of young children and a few adults looking at him attentively. His anxiety was barely under control. He was by no means an expert, this was the first time he had even seen a real panda! How was he supposed to give a whole presentation about them? It was more baffling, even, because Dakota was certain that the century he was currently in already had the species marked as heavily enderaged, shortly before going extinct. He was also sure Danville’s Zoo didn’t have any giant pandas the other times he visited it. The place seemed bigger, too; the Italian had the exhibits memorized and he was certain there were more than a few new ones around.

Dakota was also having a hard time focusing because on his arms he had an actual, small, adorable _baby panda_ ; a situation he could have never conceived himself lucky enough to be in. The little bear was soft and fluffy, and grabbed Vinnie’s clothes like he was a big warm comforting plushie. Just seeing the baby had been enough to send the brunette into a cardiac arrest.

So holding her had him more than a little freaked out.

“Uh, well… hello there…” Dakota greeted, and swallowed hard at the sound of his own voice enhanced by the microphone. “I’m, uh, I’m Vinnie Dakota and I’m here to talk about, uh, pandas.”

Everyone was staring at him. It made Vinnie sweat.

“This little girl here is called Fei Xing, and she’s the youngest panda at our zoo.”

“Awwwwww,” The group gasped, endeared by the cute baby. That helped Dakota a little with his confidence.

“So, uh,” What would an actual expert say? “The giant panda is a mammal from the _ursidae_ family, otherwise known as, well, bears. They’re native from China and, unfortunately, they’re a very endangered species that survives mainly thanks to zoos and natural reserves. They, uh, as you can see on this little girl, they have this super characteristic white and black fur; and are also famous for eating almost exclusively bamboo shoots and leaves…”

Dakota cleared his throat. The group seemed captivated by his words, making little interested noises and curious exclamations.

“So they’re harmless?” A young boy asked.

“Oh, nonononono,” The Italian explained, gaining confidence with the chance to rant. “Don’t let this cute lil’ fella fool ya, pandas are solitary and extremely territorial; and they are super strong. Males can weigh up to 250 pounds, and their teeth and claws are as sharp as any other bear. Actually, most people think they’re exclusively herbivores, but they also occasionally eat eggs, fish and meat; and a cool fact to know about them is…”

With no one to stop him with an annoyed sigh or a pleading groan for him to just _please_ stop rambling about animals again, Dakota kept going and going; talking to his captivated public about every fact about pandas he could think of. He even added some information about red pandas, since it was easy to get lost in the thrill of the moment. Kids asked him questions and laughed at his jokes; and Fei Xing licked his face and fell asleep in his arms. Vinnie kept talking even after returning the baby to her exhibit.

Dakota didn’t realize how much fun he was having until he checked his phone and saw two entire hours had gone by, and he felt disappointed the school had to leave.

“Hey Vinn!” Savannah waved at him. “Sharp as always. Do you think you can give me a hand? I need some help feeding the penguins.”

“Sure,” The Italian was still not fully into the idea of doing a job he was definitely not qualified to perform, but he was in such a good mood that didn’t find anything on him to protest. “Do schools come often to these things?”

“A lot. We’re lucky to have you! I’m not good with people and Brick, well…” She looked across the path to her tall partner having troubles peeling a banana for a monkey. “...he has other skills.”

Dakota snorted. Yeah, he definitely could get used to this Brick and Savannah.

Feeding the penguins was as fun as Vinnie had always imagined it. The little birds jumped in the water and did all kinds of tricks to ask for fish, wiggling and making funny noises as they played in the snow around him. Dakota even had the chance to pet them on the belly, fascinated by their silky feathers and their oddly friendly attitude. Not only did Savannah find each and every one of his tuxedo jokes hilarious, but when Dakota ended up imitating a penguin dancing with their little flappy feet (he remembered that from _Mary Poppins_ ), she declared it was officially the best Monday ever.

Later they joined Brick to have lunch together, and Dakota got a burger and some fries in the cafeteria; but opted for an apple instead of ice cream because, well… he had promised Cavendish he would eat fruit, hadn’t he? Sure, this was not exactly _his_ Cavendish (and Vinnie realized that, for a moment, he had actually forgotten that); but it was a Cavendish regardless, so it would be impossible to lie to him. Those stupid beautiful teal eyes of his would made Dakota melt against his own wishes no matter what.

The Italian shook his head. He still needed to find out what happened! And though this Cavendish was certainly like a dream, this was not his place. He should focus on that.

“An apple, Vinn?” Savannah teased.

“I promised Cav that I would eat fruit…”

“You can never say no to him, eh?”

“Well, it’s weird,” Dakota played with his fries, deep in thought. “I don’t think I can explain it to ya, but this feels a lot like a very long, weird dream. You’re here, but not exactly. And it’s the same with him, I kinda feel it’s too good to be true, but how am I supposed to deny him anything? He 's Cavendish! He’s… he’s my whole world.”

“Hey, that’s deep. I should write it down,” Brick smiled. As he reached for his pen, however, he accidentally knocked his glass over, spilling his soda over Savannah’s salad. “Oops!”

“You meanie!” The Latina gasped. Without skipping a beat, she took one of Dakota’s fries and threw it at Brick in revenge.

“Hey, what did my fries do to you!” Vinnie whined. He took one of Savannah’s onion rings with the intention to eat it.

He was interrupted by a spoonful of mashed potatoes hitting him in the face. The Italian removed his glasses to see Savannah holding a spoon like a small catapult and grinning mischievously at him.

“Oooooh, so this is how we’re playing, eh?” The brunette taunted. The next shot was a fry covered in ketchup that he intended to throw at Savannah, but ended up in Brick’s face istead.

“Food fight!” The tall man declared, and then it was suddenly war.

Until a familiar voice cut them sharply.

“Dakota! Brick! Savannah!” Vinnie cringed immediately at the sound. Those screams were unmistakable: Mr. Block. “What are you doing?”

Well, what _were_ they doing? Fighting with food like children ("not even children are this dirty", Cavendish would say). Dakota was covered in various sauces, shoving whatever he found into a mash of food to make projectiles; Savannah was still using the little catapult to throw mashed potatoes around, and brick somehow ended being the receiving end of most of the shots, including his own. The three of them looked at Mr. Block and Dakota swallowed hard, getting ready for the loud yelling and the colorful insults the man always used.

“I told you already,” Block scoffed, he seemed more annoyed than angry. “You need to invite me to lunch if you plan to have this much fun!”

And somehow, a happy Mr. Block was laughing heartily alongside his co-workers, and Dakota felt again like he was having a stroke. Seeing his boss so cheery was unnerving.

“Come on guys, you need to actually eat something,” Block offered, still snorting with laughter. “Take whatever you want today from the cafeteria. My treat.”

“Thanks, boss!” Savannah smiled.

“Best zoo director ever!” Brick celebrated.

Dakota kept his promise and ate the apple.

The evening was nice. They fed the lemurs, bathed the elephants and played with the dolphins. The job was so easy Dakota could swear it felt more like what a kid would think a zookeeper did than an actual professional position. Maybe he was just really good at it? Honestly, he was just confused. But he was not going to complain, because truth to be told, it was extremely fun. When Savannah and Brick told him his shift was over, Dakota actually felt sad.

He had to deal with an entirely different problem now: Cavendish.

“How was your day? Did you eat some fruit?” The Brit asked him when Dakota climbed into their car. As promised, he was waiting outside for him as soon as Vinnie left work.

“An apple,” The Italian replied, wondering how to ask his questions exactly. “Did ya, uh, like go to court today or…?”

“No, today it was just paperwork in the office. I do appreciate the rest, however, after how messy the last trial got. Thank Heavens I could prove the innocence of that poor kid.”

“Hey, Cav, can I ask you a few things…?” Dakota trailed off.

“Always, my love. However, can it wait until later? I feel pretty tired from work today. I ordered some pizza already so we can have a nice dinner as soon as we arrive home.”

“Pizza?” Dakota’s mouth watered. With all the excitement of the day, he had forgotten he hadn’t eaten anything for several hours. His stomach growled, he was so hungry now.

“A _capricciosa_ with extra black olives, your favorite,” Cavendish offered him a sweet but tired smile, and Dakota’s heart jumped a little. Okay, surely he could ask about that whole weird situation later…

But later they were eating pizza and Cavendish was giggling at the stories he told him about his day at the zoo, and he looked so cute with some mozzarella stuck in his moustache; that Dakota thought he could ask later.

But later Cavendish had proposed to him that they should watch a _Doctor Zone_ episode together, and then Balthazar was snuggling with him on the couch and Dakota felt he was going to burst out of pure joy. He could ask later.

But later a drowsy Cavendish had gone with him to bed, and called him love and kissed him gently, looking at Dakota with such sweet devotion in his eyes it made his heart hurt. And then Balthazar fell asleep against his chest, messy silver hair and tender skin warm against his own in the peace of the night.

And Dakota decided that he could always ask later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic also includes a blog where you can ask questions directly to the characters!
> 
> You can check it out here: https://askanl.tumblr.com/


End file.
